Good Advice Never Goes Out of Style

Back in the April 2008 issue of Modern Jeweler, author Deborah Yonick wrote a timeless article entitled “She Shops”. The article discusses jewelers from around the country who are successful in selling to women. Eve J. Alfille was interviewed for the article and she had this to say, “Selling to women is a contact sport,” says Eve Alfillé of Eve Alfillé Fine Jewelry, Evanston, Illinois. “You have to press the piece into their hand, walk around the counter to put it on their necks, adjust the earring to the right angle. And, you always do better if your personality is warm enough to reach out and briefly squeeze their hand in sympathy when they tell you about their divorce, their parent’s surgery, or their sister who got mom’s diamond and they didn’t. I can’t fake it. I really like my customers. Since I spend so many hours in the gallery, I don’t have time for a regular social life, so this is a stand-in. I look forward to their visit, even if they’re not buying that day. Women are social animals, far more than men.”

Alfillé describes it as relationship selling. “When someone is acquiring a big piece, or picking up something major we created for her, we know she needs validation. A ‘court’ then assembles, all the sales personnel comes out and praises some aspect of the piece, as it relates to her physique or personality. Not like ‘it’s divine on you,’ but based on our knowledge of her lifestyle: ‘This will be something you can wear even when you take the kids to school’ or ‘I know you need to dress it down as a social worker, so just wear the earrings without the drops for daytime.’”